letters email us at mail@gpweek.com Formula Embarrassment? Even GPWEEK readers could have told them (reader's letter two weeks ago)! Watch my lips Mr Ecclestone: IT RAINS EVERY DAY AT 6PM IN KL. Is there something unclear in that? Formula 1 ought to be embarrassed. If indeed they give a toss. The money's been paid, it's in the bank. A Show? Oh ........ sorry. Mr Angry (name supplied) Newcastle (UK) I have enough trouble convincing my friends that Formula 1 is a serious sport, and rubbish like Sunday's Malaysian race, deliberately moved back into MAT – Monsoon Afternoon Time – will ensure that F1 has lost another handful of casual fans. It is such a shame. Australia promised so much, but that was last week's news. This week proves just how far removed from reality the people who run this sport are. Again. Roger Mountford Kowloon, Hong Kong A drop of rain is usually the best thing for a Formula 1 race, but on this occasion it was a race- stopping deluge. From what I see, it was entirely predictable, almost to the minute, so why did the local promoter allow the race to be put back to 5pm? It ruined what was shaping up as a good race, and turned most of the result into a lottery. With one exception – at least the right man won. Extraordinary things are happening at Brawn! David Langham Portsmouth, UK 'Diffusergate' not to everyone's taste! Can someone please tell me where the Diffusergate Motel is? Back in the 70s President Nixon was found to be doing some undesirable business from the Watergate hotel in Washington hence the named scandal that followed. In recent times when any sort of scandalous behaviour occurs some very unimaginative journos feel compelled to add ‘gate’on the end in what they believe to be clever writing! I am not signalling out this publication or motor sport in general – it is used in all facets of news be it political, sport or whatever. It tends to originate in tabloids and current affairs programs, which are generally associated with gutter journalism. Let’s not degenerate to this level and get a little more original and creative in referring to these issues please. Keep up the good work and congratulations to Ross Brawn and the team on a sensational debut. Warren Furze warren.furze@bigpond.com 26 MotoGP’s ‘protest Could this explain the current panic- Michael Scott MotoGP editor EVEN in those dim and distant days before television and commercial super- hype, motorbike GP racing envied F1. All the more so now. The all-electronic 800s have made overtaking almost a thing of the past, and MotoGP can’t even offer its nail-biting on-track action up against the media might of F1. And it’s a long way short of providing F1’s supporting drama. Where would MotoGP find the rule- bending, the protests and counter- protests and appeals, the lying team officials, the exposure of those lies, and (every PR agent’s dream) the squirrel- eyed confession to lying by a reigning World Champion? Okay, the lying team officials maybe: but none of the rest. stricken flurry of rule-changing? It’s protest-envy! And somebody apparently thinks the way ahead is to introduce more and more regulations. That way, it’s much easier to break them. It’s certainly got the paddock talking. Everyone has their favourite bad new rule. Last week we discussed the banning of KTM’s proposed KERS. Saving money was deemed more important than saving energy. Then, just to underline MotoGP’s wilting green credentials, everyone flew off to Qatar to switch a million megabucks of lights on, just to underline MotoGP’s wilting green credentials. Valentino Rossi’s revered technical eminence Jerry Burgess was, as ever, a well-heeded voice of complaint, against not only several details but also the principle of too many rules. Like the penalty for infringing the restricted number of engines used, after Winter Calendar deb Martin holMeS rallies editor THE quest by Ford and Citroen for a winter-based world championship calendar rumbles on and on, and is now intrinsically linked into the debate of who really makes decisions and shapes the sport. Mark Deans, team principal for Ford BP World Rally Team says his company wants a winter calendar to give better access to more customers: “We need to re-engage with more customers on a broader basis. With a winter calendar, there are more people at home using internet and watching TV. If we can provide entertaining WRC at a time when there is no other live and topical motorsport, we will get a greater share of people’s lives. “Currently the championship finishes each year between October and December, and we miss the critical period of people’s attention. If the championship finishes in April or May, that opens up the whole summer period for us to go out and do customer related activities.” Deans added: “To get the changes made we have to explain the benefits to all parties. From a championship point of view, if you bring together the new rules at the same time as introducing the new specification World Rally Cars with the new Promoter in full flight in August 2010, we will have a fantastic opportunity to relaunch the championship.” Morrie Chandler, President of the World Rally Championship Commission, outlined the current status of the debate: “The FIA is waiting for the ISC to make suggestions, which they must do by a specific date. Even if the ISC recommends that the championship turns into a winter sport, it does not opinion opinion